A Face Full of Isadora!

Having only recently visited Sweden, I have an even greater fondness for its premier make-up brand, Isadora now. I actually originally fell in love with it when I was in college and treated myself to an eyeshadow palette containing bright yellow, green, pink and blue shades.
And yes, I wore and loved all of them. Isadora has had a bit of a renaissance in the last decade and now regularly feature on the bestselling product lists for their Blush & Bronzer wheel. 

I attended an event a while ago and have been trying these products out since. Overall, they've been a massive hit for me.

As someone with perennially dry skin, I tend to avoid foundations whose containers mention 

full coverage, long-lasting, mattifying etc., so truth be told, I probably would never have tried the Cover Up Foundation & Concealer if I hadn't been given it to review. 

Lo and behold, I am obsessed. 

There's two tubes in the photo; 62 is a good match for me and I've used every last drop. By that, I mean of course that I have squeezed every bit out of it to the point where it is the extreme definition of empty. The mini version there is a handy new thing Isadora are doing where you can buy mini sizes of all their base products to try them out, bring on holidays, throw in your bag etc. Such a good idea. The reason why I like this one so much is the amazing coverage that you get without drying your skin out; it's really an excellent foundation. I won't be happy til I get a new one.

The Stretch Lash mascara has also been an absolute winner for me. 

As I've mentioned many, many times, I'm a loyal fan of YSL's Les Effet Faux Cils Shocking mascara and I have to say, this is probably the first time in a really long time that I've found a mascara that matches my esteem for Shocking. 

This fella has one of those twisty gadgets on the lid that lets you alter the width and length of the brush, for a different effect on your lashes. Truthfully, I can't say I ever actually do that. I keep it at its thickest for maximum lash coverage and it does the job perfectly. The bristles are comfortable on my eyes (I can't do hard plastic bristles) and it gives a properly dramatic effect. No messing around with this one.

The Blush & Go Draping Wheel is one of their most loved products and comes with four shades of blush (one that can be used to contour in a pinch) and a highlight. This a really handy multitasking product, another great one to bring on holidays with you. All the shades are super pigmented and beautifully flattering on!

Lastly, I had a Liquid Lip Cream to try out. This one is an orange-toned, super bright red. I love how vibrant this shade is; I wore it on a night out in San Francisco and felt like I was properly dressed up, even though I was probably only in jeans and a t-shirt. This lip cream looks like you've made more of an effort than you have and I love that. It's the lazy girls dream lip product. 

And of course, on my actual face, it looks like this:

As well as buying a new Stretch Lash Mascara and Cover Up foundation, I'll definitely be checking out the rest of the range. 

Have you tried and loved anything from Isadora?

XX

Glossier in Ireland; What You Should/Shouldn't Buy

You might have heard recently (from my many Instagram stories/posts on it) that fancy US beauty brand, Glossier is now available to buy online in euros and ship to Ireland. Up to now, we either had to buy it in store in the states or parcel motel it from the UK. No more! And when I say we can get it shipped to Ireland, I mean no nasty custom charges at your front door. You pay a fiver for postage & packaging, or you spend over €40 and get free delivery, which is far too easily done.

I attended the recent launch in Dublin where I received three of the Lidstars (liquid eyeshadows) to try out but other than that, everything I have in this post was purchased by myself online. The website is really easy to navigate and delivery took two days only.

Milky Jelly Cleanser

I really like this. It's one of the brand's bestsellers and I can see why. It reminds me of Oskia's gel cleanser, texture-wise. This has no scent and works slightly differently, in that you don't add water to emulsify it. I use this on dry skin and find it's great for removing most make-up, except for mascara. It's also really nice to use this as a second cleanse as it really does feel like it's cleaning your skin without stripping it.

Priming Moisturiser

I like this, it's a light but comforting moisturiser that sinks in easily and works well under make up. I'm not sure how much of a priming quality it has and I really think they could have put an SPF in there, but otherwise, its been a nice addition to my make up bag in the morning.

Cloud Paints in Beam and Puff

I LOVE these. If you're getting anything, let it be these. I love everything about these; the packaging, the texture of the blush, how it applies and how it looks. Firstly, it's like the perfect liquid gel, it blends in so easily and doesn't stain the skin like some other liquid blushes. And speaking of other versions of these; cloud paints are by far, the best liquid/gel/cream blushes I've tried. They're so flattering on.

Boy Brow

The whole internet seems to be in love with this fella. What I like about it; it has a very small brush that makes it incredibly easy to apply and brush through your brows. I have the shade blonde which is a good match for me, but really my brows are too bedraggled and sparse to get the full benefit of this. I have to use a spoolie plus a brow product first to get the correct shape and fullness and then I can apply boy brow over it. If you have full, healthy brows, you could just use this and you'd be good to go though.

Birthday BalmDotCom

This is a universal skin salve- a balm that you can use everywhere. It comes in a few different shades but this appealed to the cake enthusiast in me and I wasn't disappointed. It positively screams VANILLA FROSTING every time I apply it and I'm not mad at that. I've only used this as a lip balm and I really like it. I've found that applying a Clarins Water Tint and then this over it gives the perfect summery finish. And yes, I know, this contains petroleum (the main component of Vaseline) which is a cheap ingredient but you know what, that doesn't bother me, I just really like this.

Lidstars in Herb, moon and Lily.

These are quite sheer liquid eyeshadows, that require a bit of building up to get a full-on effect. If you want a light sheen of colour, these are ideal. Again, I love the packaging and these would be perfect for travel but otherwise, it might be too much faffing to fully entice me.

Photos taken after using the Primer Moisturiser, Boy Brow, Cloud Paint in Beam & BalmDotCom (over the aforementioned Clarins Water lip Tint).

Products I would Go Back & Buy:

• The perfume, Glossier You, is really lovely, I'd quite like a full size.
• I'd buy all the Balmdotcom's. I know there's petroleum in there, which is considered a cheap ingredient but that doesn't really bother me. They're a lovely product on the lips.
• I really like the Priming moisturiser but the Priming Moisturiser Rich looks like it would be the perfect night time treat for dry skin.

Products I would Avoid:

• Invisible Shield- their SPF, which is only 35 and is way too low for me. I'm surprised it is so low for an American based company but either way, I only wear factor 50 on my face.
• The Lash Slick mascara is very much a daytime mascara and I'm just all lash drama, all the time.
• Both the Skin Tint (foundation) and the Stretch Concealer are light coverage and that's just not really my thing. Glossier as a brand are very much about that minimal make up look, but I like make up to do it's job, otherwise I'm very happy just not wearing any at all, if I'm having a particularly good skin day, for instance.
• The three serums; Super Pure, Super Bounce and Super Glow (Super Bounce is supposed to be the best of the three fyi), are all designed to target different skin woes and look very nice but regardless, they're €28 for 15mls, which seems a bit overpriced to me.

That's that for the time being, although I can't guarantee I won't be back for more!

Have you tried anything from Glossier?

XX